Revolutionary Transformations: The People's Republic of China in the 1950s - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1009304097 ISBN 13: 9781009304092

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2025

Synopsis

Using first-hand material from Chinese archives that are no longer open to researchers, and bringing together a leading team of international scholars, this volume is a major contribution to the study of the People's Republic of China. Calling into question existing narratives on the foundational decade of the PRC, these essays present a nuanced consideration of China in the 1950s by integrating two periods that are often considered separately: the relatively 'happy' years 1949–1956 with the relatively 'unhappy' years from 1957 onwards. Exploring the challenges faced in constructing socialism, the transnational context, and early modes of PRC governance, the contributors highlight the ways in which China was shaped by diversity on all levels and scales in how socialism was enacted and experienced. These essays clearly demonstrate how the unevenness of Party control created discrepancies and variations between different regions and between the center and the locale.

About this title

About the Authors

Anja Blanke is a Research Fellow at Zeppelin Universität.

Julia C. Strauss is Professor of Chinese Politics at SOAS, University of London.

Klaus Mühlhahn is President and Chair of Modern China studies at Zeppelin Universität.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1009304097
• ISBN 13: 9781009304092
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 306
• Editor: Blanke Anja